Methods and apparatus for visualizing a music library

ABSTRACT

Visualizing and exploring a music library using metadata, such as genre, sub-genre, artist, and year, is provided. Geometric shapes, such as disks or rectangles, may be divided into sectors representing genre and each sector may be further divided into sub-sectors representing artists associated with each genre. The sector&#39;s relative size generally reflects the importance of the corresponding genre within the library. Likewise, the sub-sector&#39;s relative size generally reflects the importance of the corresponding artist within the genre which may be determined by the number of media items of the artist. Marks representing each media item may be arranged and displayed within the geometric shape to reflect the mark&#39;s corresponding genre, artist, and year. In addition, each mark may reflect an attribute, such as playcount, of the media item and each sector may reflect the mean value of an attribute of all media items within the sector.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.60/723,865 filed Oct. 4, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

This application relates to methods and apparatus for providing agraphical representation of a music library.

Effectively organizing a music library not only allows a user to get asense of music contained in the library, but also helps them select andplay the music. However, the popularity of digital audio encodingtogether with music distribution channels through the Internet haveallowed users to collect hundreds or even thousands of media items. Thischange in scale of accessible music from the traditional album tothousands of songs makes choosing what music to listen to at aparticular moment a challenge.

Digital media players, such as iTunes 10 of FIG. 1 introduced by AppleComputer, Inc., Cupertino, Calif., USA, allow users to play and organizedigital music and video files using textual lists. Each item of the listmay be categorized by track title 12, track length 14, artist 16, album18, year released 20, genre 22, and composer 24. Track lists can beordered alphanumerically by categories such as title 12, artist 16,album 18, or genre 22 for example. Search bar 26 may be used to performa keyword-based search by one or more category, such as artist 16, album18, or track title 12. Tracks may also be filtered using a genre filter28, artist filter 30, or album filter 32, or all three filters may beused at the same time. For example, the user can filter all tracks by(1) Jazz using genre filter 28, (2) Billie Holiday using artist filter30, and (3) Lady in Satin using album filter 32. Results from thefilters are displayed in a results window 34 and may be orderedalphanumerically by one or more category, such as artist 16, album 18,or track title 12.

Playlists are also known to help organize and manage music libraries. Aplaylist is a subset of a library that defines an ordered sequence ofmedia items to be played and are usually created by adding media itemsto the playlist one-by-one. A smart playlist follows a set of logicalfiltering criteria, such as all jazz from 1970 that were played in thelast six months. Playlists may be generated in iTunes 10 using twodifferent methods: (1) adding media items manually in a one-by-onemanner; and (2) defining filtering criteria, such as artist 16, album18, or track title 12, to create smart playlist 36. The smart playlistmay automatically update when new media items are added to the library.

Playlists are also known to be automatically generable. PATS:Realization and User Evaluation of an Automatic Playlist Generator ofPauws et. al. refers to a Personalized Automatic Track Selection (PATS)that creates a playlist using a dynamic clustering method. Songs aregrouped based on a similarity measure that selectively weighscategorization values of songs, such as track title, year released,album, style, tempo, instruments used, place of recording, recordcompany, or rhythmic foundation. The similarity measure is selective inthe sense that one categorization value may be more important thananother. When the user selects a song, the cluster in which the song iscontained is presented as a playlist. An inductive learning algorithm isused to eliminate tracks from future playlists based upon user input.

In addition, analyzing media items based on signal processing techniquesare known to allow the user to organize and visualize a music library.However, these methods analyze each media item using signal processingtechniques without requiring categorization based on genre, artist, andyear.

Furthermore, visualizing search results is known to help users browsefor digitized music. Variations2: Toward Visual Interfaces for DigitalMusic Libraries of Notess et. al. refers to visualizing musicbibliographic data to assist music students and faculty members browseand search for digitized music. By way of example, a student may searchfor works by creator and instrumentation used. The results of the searchare displayed with a grid-based visualization that uses icon shape torepresent media type, such as audio, score, or video, color to representthe performer, and position within the grid to indicate both work genre(x-axis) and composer/work (y-axis). Hovering over an object givesdetails on the performer, for example.

However, each one of these references suffers from one or more of thefollowing disadvantages: (1) the user does not have an overall feel forhow many media items are in the music library; (2) the user cannotintuitively see what portion of the library represents a rock genreversus an easy listening genre, for example; (3) the user cannot easilysee desired attributes about each media item in relation to the libraryas a whole, such as which media items they listen to most often; (4) theuser cannot easily visualize, manage, or organize playlists; and (5) theuser cannot easily rediscover media items in their music library or knowwhich portion of their music library needs expansion.

The present inventors have recognized a need for improved apparatus andmethods for providing a graphical representation of a music library.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention are set forthin the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 shows a user interface for iTunes of the prior art;

FIG. 2 shows a disk visualization of a music library according to afirst embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows the disk visualization of FIG. 2 with a mean value of aplaycount of all media items within a sector illustrated;

FIG. 4 shows the disk visualization of FIG. 2 having a graphicalrepresentation of playlists overlaid thereon;

FIG. 5 shows a rectangular visualization of a music library according toa second embodiment;

FIG. 6 shows the rectangular visualization of FIG. 5 with a mean valueof a playcount of all media items within a sector illustrated;

FIG. 7 shows the rectangular visualization of FIG. 5 having a graphicalrepresentation of playlists overlaid thereon;

FIG. 8A shows a Tree-Map visualization of a music library according to athird embodiment;

FIG. 8B shows a Tree-Map visualization for the rock genre of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C shows a Tree-Map visualization for the rock and roll sub-genreof FIG. 8B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Throughout the specification, reference to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or “some embodiments” means that a particular describedfeature, structure, or characteristic is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in anembodiment,” or “in some embodiments” in various places throughout thisspecification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, and characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Skilledpersons will appreciate that the invention can be practiced without oneor more of the specific details, or with other methods, components,materials, etc. In some instances, well-known structures, materials, andoperations are omitted or not described in detail to avoid obscuringaspects of the embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a disk visualization 40 of a music library according to afirst embodiment. Disk visualization 40 includes a plurality of sectors50 representing genre of the music library, one or more sub-sectors 60representing artists associated with the genre, radii 70 representing atime axis, and a plurality of marks 100 corresponding to each media itemof the music library. Disk visualization 40 may not only provide anoverview of the total number of media items in the music library but mayalso provide good percentage and proportional overviews. In addition,disk visualization 40 may allow one or more playlists 110 to bevisualized, managed and organized. Furthermore, disk visualization 40may facilitate rediscovering media items in a music library instead ofsimply enlarging it. Therefore, when the time comes to expand the musiclibrary, disk visualization 40 may be helpful in deciding what toacquire or listen to next.

Referring now to FIG. 2, disk visualization 40 is divided into differentsectors 50 that represent each genre of the library. For example, themusic library illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 2 is categorizedinto nine genres: (1) Rock genre 112; (2) Soundtrack genre 114; (3) Easylistening genre 116; (4) Electronica/dance genre 118; (5) Jazz genre120; (6) Latin genre 122; (7) Pop genre 124; (8) Alternative and punkgenre 126; and (9) R&B genre 128. The music library could also beclassified into other genres, such as Classical music, Gospel, Blues,Rhythm and blues, Funk, Metal, Country music, Electronic music, Melodicmusic, Ska, Reggae, Dub, Hip hop, and Contemporary African music.

The size of each sector 50 may be proportional to the number of mediaitems of the associated genre with respect to the whole library.Therefore, the size of each sector 50 may be directly proportional tothe importance of the corresponding genre within the library. At thesame time, sectors 50 may be split in sub-sectors 60 representing theartists of the associated genre. Again, the size of sub-sectors 60 maybe proportional to the number of media items of the artist. The radii 70of disk visualization 40, from the center 80 to the perimeter 90, couldillustrate a time axis. In addition, the center 80 could represent theyear of the oldest possible media item of the library and the perimeter90 could represent the most recent media items in the library. Whileyear may be described primarily in relation to a year an album wasreleased, it is to be appreciated that year can include the year a mediaitem was released, for example.

In addition, although media items may be described primarily in relationto songs or music tracks, it is to be appreciated that media items caninclude, but are not limited to, songs, tracks, music CDs, movies, musicvideos, documents, books, poems, and images (e.g., photographs), forexample. Media items may be depicted as marks 100 and can be arrangedwithin disk visualization 40 according to the media item'scategorization. For example, the media items of the library may becategorized according to genre, artist, and year of release. Furthercategorizations may include title of the media item, album, style orera, tempo, musicians featured in the media item, instruments used inthe media item, total number of musicians, soloing musicians, composerof the media item, producer of the media item, where the media item wasrecorded, whether the media item is a live performance, record company,rhythmic foundation, and melodic/harmonic development. In oneembodiment, media items belonging to the same album are positionedcontiguously thereby having the effect of producing arcs of points 130representing albums. In addition, albums may be depicted in alphanumericorder and media items of the same album may be ordered in the originalorder of the album.

Quantitative attributes 132 may be chosen by the user. For example,quantitative attributes 132 may include playcount 134, rating 136, lastplayed date 138, and added date 140. In addition, other quantitativeattributes 132 may include ratings and reviews assigned by critics,artists, or others, or artists having new media items forthcoming. Thequantitative attributes 132 may be depicted by marks 100 and colors maybe used to express the exact value for one media item in its associatedmark 100. For example, each mark 100 could have different color orgrayscale tonalities indicative of quantitative attribute 132. By way ofexample, if the quantitative attribute 132 is playcount 134, a spectrumfrom light blue to black may be used. Marks 100 colored light blue couldrepresent the most played media items, marks 100 colored black couldrepresent the least played media items, and marks 100 colored accordingto another part of the spectrum could fall in between the most playedand least played media items. In addition, each mark 100 could have aunique identification code 142, such as A, B, and C. By way of example,if the quantitative attribute 132 is playcount 134, A could representthe most played media item, C could represent the least played mediaitem, and B could represent a media item falling in between the leastplayed and most played.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a mean value of all the media items for onegenre may be used to color a corresponding sector 50. For example, eachsector 50 could have different color or grayscale tonalities indicativeof the mean value of the playcount 134 of all media items within thatsector 50. Again, a spectrum from light blue to black may be used, butother colors would be suitable. Sectors 50 colored light blue couldrepresent sectors 50 having the most played media items, sectors 50colored black could represent sectors 50 having the least played mediaitems, and sectors 50 colored according to another part of the spectrumcould represent sectors 50 having media items with a playcount fallingbetween the most played and least played. In addition, each sector 50could also be shaded with unique patterns 144 as shown in FIG. 3. By wayof example, sectors 50 represented by a first unique pattern 146 couldrepresent sectors 50 having the most played media items. In a similarmanner, sectors 50 represented by a second unique pattern 148 couldrepresent sectors 50 having media items with a playcount falling betweenthe most played and least played. Finally, sectors 50 represented by athird unique pattern 150 could represent sectors 50 having the leastplayed media items.

Referring now to FIG. 4, playlists 110 are shown using the diskvisualization 40. Playlists 110 may be created by adding media items ina one-by-one manner, or they could be smart playlists following a set oflogical filtering criteria. Media items of playlists 110 without anygrouping logic may be depicted using geometric forms different frommarks 100, which are used in general for the rest of the media items.For example, jogging playlist 152 could be displayed using diamondshapes 154. While, diamond shapes 154 are colored black, other shapes,sizes, colors or shading could be used. Likewise, 25 last playedplaylist 156 could be represented using black crosses 158. Again, othershapes, sizes, colors or shading could also be used. Other playlists110, including 60's and 70's music playlist 160, Bruce Springsteenplaylist 162, and R.E.M. after 1990 playlist 164, may be shown as shadedregions since they follow a regular geometric form. In one embodiment,red shaded regions are used, but other colors, shading patterns, orindicia could also be used. Rolling Stones & Beatles playlist 166 and80's pop music playlist 168 are not highlighted in the embodiment shownin FIG. 4 because the user has not activated the correspondingcheckboxes 170.

Disk visualization 40 may also indicate currently playing media item172. For example, currently playing media item 172 could be displayedusing a circular shape. While, the circular shape illustrating currentlyplaying media item 172 is colored black, other shapes, sizes, colors orshading could be used. Furthermore, path 174 grouping media items to beplayed next could be displayed. In this manner, the user could get anidea of what regions of the library are going to be used in the currentmusic sequence, such as playlist 110.

The user may interact with disk visualization 40 in a number of ways,including navigating media items, zooming over one or more sectors 50,managing playlists 110, and searching for media items. For example,additional information about any media item in the library may bevisualized by positioning a cursor 176 over the mark 100 representingthe media item. As illustrated in FIG. 2, cursor 176 is positioned overthe media item I don't want a lover by Texas. Metadata, such as mediaitem attributes, could be indicated in media item title field 178,artist name field 180, album name field 182, and year released field184. In addition, an album cover field 186 may provide a visualindication of cover art associated with the album indicated in albumname field 182.

If cursor 176 is positioned over one of sectors 50, the artist ofcorresponding sub-sector 60 may be highlighted. For example, as shown inFIG. 2, cursor 176 is over sector 50 representing the pop genre 124 andsub-sector 60 representing the group Texas. The name of the artist maybe displayed in a sub-sector name field 188 as illustrated in FIG. 2.Likewise, the year of release may be highlighted with dashed-circle 190and the actual year displayed in year field 192. In this manner, theuser could see other media items released in the same year.

The user may also zoom over any sector 50 of the disk visualization 40to get a more detailed view of the library. When the zoom feature isactivated, a second disk visualization (not shown) could be generatedwith similar visualization and interaction principles but applied to thegenre of selected sector 50. The second disk visualization may bedisplayed proximate disk visualization 40 or disk visualization 40 maysimply be updated with new information. By way of example, if the userzooms over sector 50 representing pop genre 124, sectors 50 of diskvisualization 40 representing genres may become sectors (not shown)representing artists. Likewise, sub-sectors 60 of disk visualization 40representing artists may become sub-sectors (not shown) representingalbums. All the other dimensions and general principles may remain thesame.

The user may perform another level of zoom by selecting another sectorof the second disk visualization. This could generate a third diskvisualization (not shown) with similar visualization and interactionprinciples but applied to the artist of the selected sector. The thirddisk visualization may be displayed proximate the second diskvisualization or the second disk visualization may simply be updatedwith new information. By way of example, if the user zooms over thesector representing the group Texas, sectors of the second diskvisualization representing artists may become sectors (not shown)representing albums. In the third disk visualization, there may be nosub-sector, but the user could obtain a graphical representation of themedia items for a given artist.

Referring again to FIG. 4, disk visualization 40 may not only be used tographically display playlists 110, but may also be used to edit orcreate new playlists 110 using the graphical display. For example,playlists 110 may be considered as sets and new playlists 110 may beformed using set operations. By way of example, the user could selectmultiple playlists 110, such as the 60's and 70's music playlist 160 andthe Bruce Springsteen playlist 162, and apply set operations, such asunion, intersection, difference, or complements. The resulting playlists110 could graphically displayed.

In addition, when creating or editing playlists 110 by directlyselecting media items or by constructing a set of logic rules for smartplaylists, the disk visualization 40 may be helpful by showing playlist110 being created step-by-step. This may not only allow the user toimmediately see the new playlist 110 take form, but it may also allowthe user to see changes to the new playlist 110 in a real-time manner.Furthermore, the user can also approximate the size and topology of thenew playlist 110 which provides a better idea of the zones of thelibrary that are overused or underused, or the zones implied in eachplaylist 110.

Furthermore, the user may also search for media items using search bar194. In response to the search, results may be dynamically filtered andhighlighted on disk visualization 40.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show a rectangular visualization 200 of a musiclibrary according to a second embodiment (in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 referencenumerals with the prime symbol, e.g., 50′, indicate elements similar tothose of the same name in the first embodiment, i.e., sectors 50).Rectangular visualization 200 includes a plurality of sectors 50′representing genre of the music library, one or more sub-sectors 60′representing artists associated with the genre, lines 202 representing atime axis, and a plurality of marks 100′ corresponding to each mediaitem of the music library.

Although a sector may be described as a plane figure bounded by tworadii and the included arc of a circle, it is to be appreciated thatsector may be described as a division into sectors, portions, orcontiguous subparts, for example. Referring now to FIG. 5, rectangularvisualization 200 is divided into different sectors 50′ that representeach genre of the library. For example, the music library illustrated inthe embodiment of FIG. 5 is categorized into nine genres: (1) Rock genre112′; (2) Soundtrack genre 114′; (3) Easy listening genre 116′; (4)Electronica/dance genre 118′; (5) Jazz genre 120′; (6) Latin genre 122′;(7) Pop genre 124′; (8) Alternative and punk genre 126′; and (9) R&Bgenre 128′.

The size of each sector 50′ may be proportional to the number of mediaitems of the associated genre with respect to the whole library.Therefore, the size of each sector 50′ may be directly proportional tothe importance of the corresponding genre within the library. At thesame time, sectors 50′ may be split in sub-sectors 60′ representing theartists of the associated genre. Again, the size of sub-sectors 60′ maybe proportional to the number of media items of the artist. Lines 202 ofrectangular visualization 200 illustrate parallel lines of equal lengthdefining sectors 50′. Bottom side 204 and top side 206 illustrate a timeaxis. For example, bottom side 204 could represent the year 1956 whiletop side 206 could represent the year 2004. In this manner, bottom side204 may represent the year of the oldest possible media item of thelibrary and top side 206 may represent the most recent media items inthe library.

Media items may be depicted as marks 100′ and are arranged withinrectangular visualization 200 according to the media item'scategorization. For example, the media items of the library may becategorized according to genre, artist, and year of release. Furthercategorizations may include title of the media item, album, style orera, tempo, musicians featured in the media item, instruments used inthe media item, total number of musicians, soloing musicians, composerof the media item, producer of the media item, where the media item wasrecorded, whether the media item is a live performance, record company,rhythmic foundation, and melodic/harmonic development. In oneembodiment, media items belonging to the same album are positionedcontiguously thereby having the effect of producing a line of points 210representing albums. In addition, albums may be depicted in alphanumericorder and media items of the same album may be ordered in the originalorder of the album.

Quantitative attributes 132′ may be chosen by the user. For example,quantitative attributes 132′ may include playcount 134′, rating 136′,last played date 138′, and added date 140′. In addition, otherquantitative attributes 132′ may include ratings and reviews assigned bycritics, artists, or others, or artists having new works forthcoming.The quantitative attributes 132′ may be depicted by marks 100′ andcolors may be used to express the exact value for one media item in itsassociated mark 100′. For example, each mark 100′ could have differentcolor or grayscale tonalities indicative of quantitative attribute 132′.By way of example, if the quantitative attribute 132′ is playcount 134′,a spectrum from light blue to black may be used. Marks 100′ coloredlight blue could represent the most played media items, marks 100′colored black could represent the least played media items, and marks100′ colored according to another part of the spectrum could fall inbetween the most played and least played media items. In addition, eachmark 100′ could have a unique identification code 142′, such as A, B,and C. By way of example, if the quantitative attribute 132′ isplaycount 134′, A could represent the most played media item, C couldrepresent the least played media item, and B could represent a mediaitem falling in between the least played and most played.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a mean value of all the media items for onegenre may be used to color a corresponding sector 50′. For example, eachsector 50′ could have different color or grayscale tonalities indicativeof the mean value of the playcount 134′ of all media items within thatsector 50′. Again, a spectrum from light blue to black may be used, butother colors would be suitable. Sectors 50′ colored light blue couldrepresent sectors 50′ having the most played media items, sectors 50′colored black could represent sectors 50′ having the least played mediaitems, and sectors 50′ colored according to another part of the spectrumcould represent sectors 50′ having media items with a playcount fallingbetween the most played and least played. In addition, each sector 50′could also be shaded with unique patterns 144′ as shown in FIG. 6. Byway of example, sectors 50′ represented by a first unique pattern 146′could represent sectors 50′ having the most played media items. Sectors50′ represented by a second unique pattern 148′ could represent sectors50′ having media items with a playcount falling between the most playedand least played. Finally, sectors 50′ represented by a third uniquepattern 150′ could represent sectors 50′ having the least played mediaitems.

Referring now to FIG. 7, playlists 110′ are shown using the rectangularvisualization 200. Playlists 110′ may be created by adding media itemsin a one-by-one manner, or they could be smart playlists following a setof logical filtering criteria. Media items of playlists 110′ without anygrouping logic may be depicted using geometric forms different frommarks 100′, which can be used in general for the rest of the mediaitems. For example, jogging playlist 152′ could be displayed usingdiamond shapes 154′. While, diamond shapes 154′ are colored black, othershapes, sizes, colors or shading could be used. Likewise, 25 last playedplaylist 156′ could be represented using black crosses 158′. Again,other shapes, sizes, colors or shading could also be used. Otherplaylists 110′, including 60's and 70's music playlist 160′, BruceSpringsteen playlist 162′, and R.E.M. after 1990 playlist 164′, may beshown as shaded regions since they follow a regular geometric form. In apreferred embodiment, red shaded regions are used, but other colors,shading patterns, or indicia could also be used. Rolling Stones &Beatles playlist 166′ and 80's pop music playlist 168′ are nothighlighted because the user has not activated their correspondingcheckboxes 170′.

Rectangular visualization 200 may also indicate currently playing mediaitem 172′. For example, currently playing media item 172′ could bedisplayed using a circular shape. While, the circular shape illustratingcurrently playing media item 172′ is colored black, other shapes, sizes,colors or shading could be used. In addition, path 174′ grouping mediaitems to be played next could also be displayed. In this manner, theuser might get an idea of what regions of the library are going to beused in the current music sequence, such as playlist 110′.

The user may interact with rectangular visualization 200 in a number ofways, including navigating media items, zooming over one or more sectors50′, managing playlists 110′, and searching for media items. Forexample, additional information about any media item in the library maybe visualized by positioning a cursor (not shown) over a mark 100′ in amanner similar to that described for disk visualization 40. In addition,if the cursor is positioned over a sector 50′, the artist ofcorresponding sub-sector 60′ may be highlighted in a manner similar tothat described for disk visualization 40, except that the year ofrelease may be highlighted with a dashed-line (not shown).

The user may also zoom over any sector 50′ in a manner similar to thatdescribed for disk visualization 40 to get a more detailed view of thelibrary. For example, when the zoom feature is activated, a secondrectangular visualization (not shown) may be generated with similarvisualization and interaction principles but applied to the genre ofselected sector 50′. The second rectangular visualization may bedisplayed proximate rectangular visualization 200 or rectangularvisualization 200 may simply be updated with new information. By way ofexample, if the user zooms over sector 50′ representing pop genre 124′,sectors 50′ of rectangular visualization 200 representing genres maybecome sectors (not shown) representing artists. Likewise, sub-sectors60′ of rectangular visualization 200 representing artists may becomesub-sectors (not shown) representing albums. All the other dimensionsand general principles could remain the same.

The user may perform another level of zoom by selecting another sectorof the second rectangular visualization. This could generate a thirdrectangular visualization (not shown) with similar visualization andinteraction principles but applied to the artist of the selected sector.The third rectangular visualization may be displayed proximate thesecond rectangular visualization or the second rectangular visualizationmay simply be updated with new information. By way of example, if theuser zooms over the sector representing the group Bruce Springsteen,sectors of the second rectangular visualization representing artists maybecome sectors (not shown) representing albums. In the third rectangularvisualization, there may be no sub-sector, but the user could obtain agraphical representation of the media items for a given artist.

Another way of applying a zoom function in the rectangle visualization200 is to consider that the media items in the library are always shown,but the scale of a horizontal axis 210 or vertical axis 212 changes. Forexample, the user could explore the entire library by using a scroll bar(not shown) for panning over a specific zone. In this manner, whenzooming in, the horizontal axis 210 still represents the genres, and theartists within each genre. Another level of zoom, as previouslydescribed, could be used in which the horizontal axis 210 alsorepresents the albums for each artist. Accordingly, the horizontal axis210 and its scroll bar may be adapted depending on the zoom level.

Referring again to FIG. 7, rectangular visualization 200 may be used tographically display playlists 110′ and to edit or create new playlists110′ using the graphical display in a manner similar to that describedfor disk visualization 40. In addition, the user may also search formedia items using search bar 194′. In response to the search, resultsmay be dynamically filtered and highlighted on rectangular visualization200.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C show a Tree-Map visualization 300 of a musiclibrary according to a third embodiment (in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8Creference numerals with the prime symbol, e.g., 50″, indicate elementssimilar to those of the same name in the first embodiment, i.e., sectors50). Tree-Map visualization 300 includes a plurality of sectors 50″representing genre of the music library, one or more first sub-sectors302 representing sub-genres associated with the genre, one or moresecond sub-sectors 304 representing artists associated with eachsub-genre, and an indicia representing a mean value of an attribute ofall media items within a second sub-sector. Tree-Map visualization 300may give the user a good overview of the number of media items belongingto each genre, sub-genre, and artist as represented by the respectiverectangle sizes. However, in one embodiment, Tree-Map visualization 300does not display information about individual media items or playlists.

Referring now to FIG. 8A, Tree-Map visualization 300 is divided intodifferent sectors 50″ that represent each genre of the library. Forexample, the music library illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 8A iscategorized into seven genres: (1) Jazz genre 306; (2) Pop genre 308;(3) Classical genre 310; (4) Techno genre 312; (5) Country genre 314;(6) Rock genre 316; and (7) Soundtrack genre 318.

The size of each sector 50″ may be proportional to the number of mediaitems of the associated genre with respect to the whole library. At thesame time, sectors 50″ may be split into one or more first sub-sectors302 representing sub-genres associated with the sector 50″. For example,sub-genres of Rock genre 316 may include Rock and roll sub-genre 322,Alternative sub-genre 324, Psychedelic sub-genre 326, Folk sub-genre328, Instrumental sub-genre 330, Hard rock sub-genre 332, and Punksub-genre 334. Of course, other sub-genre may be available for othergenre. Each first sub-sector may be sized to reflect a ratio between thenumber of media items associated with the first sub-sector 302 and allthe media items in the sector 50″. In addition, each first sub-sector302 may be divided into one or more second sub-sectors 304 representingartists associated with the first sub-sector 302. Each second sub-sector304 may be sized to reflect a ratio between the number of media itemsassociated with the second sub-sector 304 and all the media items in thefirst sub-sector 302. Further, each second sub-sector 304 may be dividedinto one or more third sub-sectors 320 representing albums associatedwith the second sub-sector 304. Each third sub-sector 320 may be sizedto reflect a ratio between the number of media items associated with thethird sub-sector 320 and all the media items in the second sub-sector304.

In a manner similar to that for disk visualization 40 and rectangularvisualization 200, quantitative attributes may be chosen by the user.For example, quantitative attributes may include playcount, rating, lastplayed date, and added date. In addition, other quantitative attributesmay include ratings and reviews assigned by critics, artists, or others,or artists having new works forthcoming. The mean value of all the mediaitems in each second sub-sector 304 may be used to color a correspondingsecond sub-sector 304. For example, each second sub-sector 304 couldhave different color or grayscale tonalities indicative of the meanvalue of the playcount of all media items within that second sub-sector304. A spectrum from light blue to black may be used, but other colorswould be suitable. Second sub-sectors 304 colored light blue couldrepresent second sub-sector 304 having the most played media items,second sub-sectors 304 colored black could represent second sub-sectors304 having the least played media items, and second sub-sectors 304colored according to another part of the spectrum could represent secondsub-sectors 304 having media items with a playcount falling between themost played and least played. In addition, each second sub-sector 304could also be shaded with unique patterns as discussed with reference toFIGS. 3 and 6. Furthermore, the mean value of all the media items ineach third sub-sector 320 may be used to color a corresponding thirdsub-sector 320.

The user may also zoom over any sector 50″ in a manner similar to thatdescribed for disk visualization 40 and rectangular visualization 200 toget a more detailed view of the library. For example, when the zoomfeature is activated, a Second Tree-Map visualization 336 may generatedwith similar visualization and interaction principles but applied to thegenre of selected sector 50″. The second Tree-Map visualization 336 maybe displayed proximate Tree-Map visualization 300 or Tree-Mapvisualization 300 may simply be updated with new information. By way ofexample, if the user zooms over sector 50″ representing Rock genre 316,sectors 50″ of Tree-Map visualization 300 representing genres may becomesectors (not shown) representing sub-genres including Rock and rollsub-genre 322, Alternative sub-genre 324, Psychedelic sub-genre 326,Folk sub-genre 328, Instrumental sub-genre 330, Hard rock sub-genre 332,and Punk sub-genre 334. Likewise, first sub-sectors 302 of Tree-Mapvisualization 300 representing sub-genre may become additionalsub-sectors (not shown) representing artists. All the other dimensionsand general principles could remain the same.

The user may perform another level of zoom by selecting any secondsector of the second Tree-Map visualization 336 corresponding to asub-genre. This could generate a third Tree-Map visualization 338 withsimilar visualization and interaction principles but applied to thesub-genre of the selected second sector. The third Tree-Mapvisualization 338 may be displayed proximate the second Tree-Mapvisualization 336 or the second Tree-Map visualization 336 may simply beupdated with new information. By way of example, if the user zooms overthe second sector representing the Rock and roll sub-genre 322, sectorsof the second Tree-Map visualization representing sub-genre may becomesectors (not shown) representing artists.

It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changesmay be made to the details of the above-described embodiments withoutdeparting from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope ofthe present invention should, therefore, be determined only by thefollowing claims.

1. A method for generating a graphical representation of a music librarycomprising: accessing metadata that describes a set of media items, themetadata including at least genre, artist, and year for each media item;generating a screen display wherein the screen display comprises ageometric shape, the geometric shape divided into a plurality of sectorsrepresenting genre of the music library, each sector sized to reflect aratio between the number of media items associated with the sector and atotal number of media items in the music library, and each sectordivided into one or more sub-sectors representing artists associatedwith the sector, each sub-sector sized to reflect a ratio between thenumber of media items associated with the sub-sector and a total numberof media items in the sector; in the screen display, displaying a markfor each one of the set of media items; and arranging the marks withinthe geometric shape so that each mark is positioned spaced apart from aselected point within the geometric shape according to the year of thecorresponding media item, and each mark is positioned in the sectorcorresponding to the genre of the corresponding media item, and eachmark is positioned in the sub-sector corresponding to the artist of thecorresponding media item.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein: thegeometric shape is a disk, each sector of the disk is bound by acorresponding pair of line segments extending along radii, eachsub-sector of the disk is bound by a corresponding pair of line segmentsextending along radii, and the selected point is located at the centerof the disk.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein: the geometric shape is arectangle, each sector of the rectangle is bound by a corresponding pairof parallel lines of equal length, each sub-sector of the rectangle isbound by a corresponding pair of parallel lines of equal length, and theselected point is located at an intersection of two adjacent sides ofthe rectangle.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said displaying themarks includes selecting an appearance of each of the marks so as tovisually indicate an attribute of the corresponding media item.
 5. Themethod of claim 4 wherein the attribute is a playcount.
 6. The method ofclaim 4 wherein the attribute is a rating.
 7. The method of claim 4wherein the attribute is a last played date.
 8. The method of claim 4wherein the attribute is an add date.
 9. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising positioning the marks so that marks corresponding to mediaitems that are associated with a given album are positionedcontiguously.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising positioningthe marks within a range representing the year of the correspondingmedia item.
 11. The method of claim 4 further comprising displaying,within a sector, an indicium representing a mean value of the attributeof all media items within the sector.
 12. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising selecting a plurality of the media items so as to define aplaylist and overlaying at least one mark with an identifier of thedefined playlist that includes the media item.
 13. The method of claim12 further comprising highlighting a portion of the geometric shape thatincludes marks corresponding to media items in a defined playlist. 14.The method of claim 1 further comprising overlaying at least one markwith an identifier of a currently playing media item.
 15. The method ofclaim 14 further comprising displaying a connection between media itemsin a playlist so that a path from the currently playing media item tosubsequent media items in the playlist is illustrated.
 16. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving a user input selecting a mediaitem; displaying at least a portion of the metadata for the selectedmedia item; highlighting the sub-sector in which the media item ispositioned; and displaying an indicia of the year of the media item. 17.The method of claim 16 wherein the indicia is a circle.
 18. The methodof claim 16 wherein the indicia is a line.
 19. The method of claim 1further comprising: receiving a user input selecting one of the sectorscorresponding to a genre; responsive to the user input, generating asecond screen display wherein the second screen display comprises asecond geometric shape, the second geometric shape divided into aplurality of second sectors representing artists of the selected sector,each second sector sized to reflect a ratio between the number of mediaitems associated with the second sector and a total number of mediaitems in the selected sector, and each second sector divided into one ormore second sub-sectors representing albums associated with the artistof the second sector, each second sub-sector sized to reflect a ratiobetween the number of media items associated with the second sub-sectorand a total number of media items in the second sector; in the secondscreen display, displaying second marks for each one of the set of mediaitems within the selected genre sector; and arranging the second markswithin the second geometric shape so that each second mark is positionedspaced apart from a second selected point within the second geometricshape according to the year of the corresponding media item, and eachsecond mark is positioned in the second sector corresponding to theartist of the corresponding media item, and each second mark ispositioned in the second sub-sector corresponding to the album of thecorresponding media item.
 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:receiving a second user input selecting one of the second sectorscorresponding to an artist; responsive to the second user input,generating a third screen display wherein the third screen displaycomprises a third geometric shape, the third geometric shape dividedinto a plurality of third sectors representing albums of the selectedsecond sector, each third sector sized to reflect a ratio between thenumber of media items associated with the third sector and a totalnumber of media items in the selected second sector; in the third screendisplay, displaying third marks for each one of the set of media itemswithin the selected artist sector; and arranging the third marks withinthe third geometric shape so that each third mark is positionedsequentially from a third point within the third geometric shapeaccording to the year of the corresponding media item, and each thirdmark is positioned in the third sector corresponding to the album of thecorresponding media item.
 21. The method of claim 3 wherein only aportion of the rectangle is displayed and further comprising receiving auser input requesting a different portion of the rectangle to bedisplayed, and responsive to the user input, displaying a differentportion of the rectangle.
 22. The method of claim 1 further comprising:receiving a user input selecting a media item; and adding the media itemto a playlist.
 23. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving auser input containing search criterion; responsive to the user input,searching the metadata; and highlighting a portion of the geometricshape corresponding to a plurality of media items matching the searchcriterion.
 24. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving auser input containing search criterion; responsive to the user input,searching the metadata; and overlaying the mark of one or more mediaitems matching the search criterion with an indicia of the search towhich the media item matches.
 25. A computer program stored on machinereadable medium for generating a graphical representation of a musiclibrary comprising: first code for accessing metadata that describes aset of media items, the metadata including at least genre, artist, andyear for each media item; second code for generating a screen displaywherein the screen display comprises a geometric shape, the geometricshape divided into a plurality of sectors representing genre of themusic library, each sector sized to reflect a ratio between the numberof media items associated with the sector and a total number of mediaitems in the music library, and each sector divided into one or moresub-sectors representing artists associated with the sector, eachsub-sector sized to reflect a ratio between the number of media itemsassociated with the sub-sector and a total number of media items in thesector; third code for displaying, in the screen display, a mark foreach one of the set of media items; and fourth code for arranging themarks within the geometric shape so that each mark is positioned spacedapart from a selected point within the geometric shape according to theyear of the corresponding media item, and each mark is positioned in thesector corresponding to the genre of the corresponding media item, andeach mark is positioned in the sub-sector corresponding to the artist ofthe corresponding media item.
 26. The computer program according toclaim 25 wherein: the geometric shape is a disk, each sector of the diskis bound by a corresponding pair of line segments extending along radii,each sub-sector of the disk is bound by a corresponding pair of linesegments extending along radii, and the selected point from which thethird code arranges the marks is located at the center of the disk. 27.The computer program according to claim 25 wherein: the geometric shapeis a rectangle, each sector of the rectangle is bound by correspondingpair of parallel lines of equal length, each sub-sector of the rectangleis bound by corresponding pair of parallel lines of equal length, andthe point from which the third code arranges the marks is anintersection of any two sides of the rectangle.
 28. The computer programaccording to claim 25 wherein said displaying the marks includesselecting an appearance of each of the marks so as to visually indicatean attribute of the corresponding media item.
 29. The computer programaccording to claim 28 further comprising a fifth code for displaying,within a sector, an indicium representing a mean value of the attributeof all media items within the sector.
 30. The computer program accordingto claim 25 further comprising a fifth code for selecting a plurality ofthe media items so as to define a playlist and overlaying at least onemark with an identifier of the defined playlist that includes the mediaitem.
 31. The computer program according to claim 30 further comprisinga fifth code for highlighting a portion of the geometric shape thatincludes marks corresponding to media items in a defined playlist. 32.The computer program according to claim 25 further comprising: a fifthcode for receiving a user input selecting a media item; a sixth code fordisplaying at least a portion of the metadata for the selected mediaitem; a seventh code for highlighting the sub-sector in which the mediaitem is positioned; and an eight code for displaying an indicia of theyear of the media item.
 33. The computer program according to claim 25further comprising: a fifth code for receiving a user input selectingone of the sectors corresponding to a genre; a sixth code for generatingin response to the user input a second screen display wherein the secondscreen display comprises a second geometric shape, the second geometricshape divided into a plurality of second sectors representing artists ofthe selected sector, each second sector sized to reflect a ratio betweenthe number of media items associated with the second sector and a totalnumber of media items in the selected sector, and each second sectordivided into one or more second sub-sectors representing albumsassociated with the artist of the second sector, each second sub-sectorsized to reflect a ratio between the number of media items associatedwith the second sub-sector and a total number of media items in thesecond sector; a seventh code for displaying, in the second screendisplay, second marks for each one of the set of media items within theselected genre sector; and an eight code for arranging the second markswithin the second geometric shape so that each second mark is positionedspaced apart from a second selected point within the second geometricshape according to the year of the corresponding media item, and eachsecond mark is positioned in the second sector corresponding to theartist of the corresponding media item, and each second mark ispositioned in the second sub-sector corresponding to the album of thecorresponding media item.
 34. The computer program according to claim 33further comprising: a ninth code for receiving a second user inputselecting one of the second sectors corresponding to an artist; a tenthcode for generating in response to the second user input a third screendisplay wherein the third screen display comprises a third geometricshape, the third geometric shape divided into a plurality of thirdsectors representing albums of the selected second sector, each thirdsector sized to reflect a ratio between the number of media itemsassociated with the third sector and a total number of media items inthe selected second sector; an eleventh code for displaying, in thethird screen display, third marks for each one of the set of media itemswithin the selected artist sector; and a twelfth code for arrangingthird marks within the third geometric shape so that each third mark ispositioned spaced apart from a third selected point within the thirdgeometric shape according to the year of the corresponding media item,and each third mark is positioned in the third sector corresponding tothe album of the corresponding media item.
 35. The computer programaccording to claim 27 wherein only a portion of the rectangle isdisplayed and further comprising a fifth code for receiving a user inputrequesting a different portion of the rectangle to be displayed, andresponsive to the user input, displaying a different portion of therectangle.
 36. A method for generating a graphical representation ofdigital music library comprising: accessing metadata that describes aset of media items, the metadata including at least genre, sub-genre,and artist for each media item; displaying a rectangle, the rectangledivided into a plurality of sectors representing genre of the musiclibrary, each sector sized to reflect a ratio between the number ofmedia items associated with the sector and a total number of media itemsin the music library, and each sector divided into one or more firstsub-sectors representing sub-genres associated with the sector, eachfirst sub-sector sized to reflect a ratio between the number of mediaitems associated with the first sub-sector and a total number of mediaitems in the sector; and displaying within each first sub-sector anindicium representing a mean value of an attribute of all media itemswithin the first sub-sector.
 37. The method of claim 36 wherein eachfirst sub-sector is divided into one or more second sub-sectorsrepresenting artists associated with the first sub-sector, each secondsub-sector sized to reflect a ratio between the number of media itemsassociated with the second sub-sector and a total number of media itemsin the first sub-sector; and displaying within each second sub-sector anindicium representing a mean value of an attribute of all media itemswithin the second sub-sector.
 38. The method of claim 37 wherein eachsecond sub-sector is divided into one or more third sub-sectorsrepresenting albums associated with the second sub-sector, each thirdsub-sector sized to reflect a ratio between the number of media itemsassociated with the third sub-sector and a total number of media itemsin the second sub-sector; and displaying within each third sub-sector anindicium representing a mean value of an attribute of all media itemswithin the third sub-sector.
 39. The method of claim 36 wherein theattribute is a playcount.
 40. The method of claim 36 wherein theattribute is a rating.
 41. The method of claim 36 wherein the attributeis a last played date.
 42. The method of claim 36 wherein the attributeis an add date.
 43. The method of claim 36 further comprising: receivinga user input selecting one of the sectors corresponding to a genre;responsive to the user input, displaying a second rectangle, the secondrectangle divided into a plurality of second sectors representingsub-genre of the music library, each second sector sized to reflect aratio between the number of media items associated with the secondsector and a total number of media items in the second rectangle, andeach second sector divided into one or more additional sectorsrepresenting artists associated with the second sector, each additionalsector sized to reflect a ratio between the number of media itemsassociated with the additional sector and a total number of media itemsin the second sector; and displaying within each additional sector anindicium representing a mean value of an attribute of all media itemswithin the additional sector.
 44. The method of claim 43 furthercomprising: receiving a second user input selecting one of the secondsectors corresponding to a sub-genre; responsive to the second userinput, displaying a third rectangle, the third rectangle divided into aplurality of third sectors representing artists of the selected secondsector, each third sector sized to reflect a ratio between the number ofmedia items associated with the third sector and a total number of mediaitems in the third rectangle; and displaying within each third sector anindicium representing a mean value of an attribute of all media itemswithin the third sector.
 45. A computer program stored on machinereadable medium for generating a graphical representation of a digitalmusic library comprising: first code for accessing metadata thatdescribes a set of media items, the metadata including at least genre,sub-genre, and artist for each media item; second code for displaying arectangle, the rectangle divided into a plurality of sectorsrepresenting genre of the music library, each sector sized to reflect aratio between the number of media items associated with the sector and atotal number of media items in the music library, and each sectordivided into one or more first sub-sectors representing sub-genresassociated with the sector, each first sub-sector sized to reflect aratio between the number of media items associated with the firstsub-sector and a total number of media items in the sector, each firstsub-sector divided into one or more second sub-sectors representingartists associated with the first sub-sector, and each second sub-sectorsized to reflect a ratio between the number of media items associatedwith the second sub-sector and a total number of media items in thefirst sub-sector; and third code for displaying within each secondsub-sector an indicium representing a mean value of an attribute of allmedia items within the second sub-sector.